From Bad to Worse
by Snape's too sexy for his robes
Summary: NEW CHAPTER UP!Hermione Granger is having a bad week. Of course Ron isn't making it any better. Let's see how many arguements and embarrassing encounters they can get through before finally realising the blindingly obvious? Read and Review please!:]
1. Chapter 1: An Easy Mistake To Make?

Title: From Bad to Worse  
  
Disclaimer: I own some socks. And other items of clothing. A phone. And lots of books. I could continue. But what's the point? You all know I don't own HP or anything related to it. Unfortunately.  
  
A/N: Hmmm. Not quite sure where this story is going to go, but please read and review! (Might give me some ideas for future chappies!!)  
  
Chapter 1: An Easy Mistake to Make?  
  
Professor McGonagall severe face looms, "We're so very disappointed in you Miss Granger. Only six Outstanding's! SIX! We expected better of you..."  
  
"OH NO! SIX - ! ARRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!"  
  
I sit bolt upright in bed. What time is it? I think wildly, scrambling out of bed and feverishly hunting for my dressing-gown ( hidden under a pile of books as heavy as me, probably) and knocking my alarm clock off the dresser in the process. Unsurprisingly, this clamour awakes Lavender, who sits up ve-ry slowly and groggily.  
  
"Hermione? Are you mad?" She croaks at me. "Its SATURDAY for God's sake! And, besides-" she looks at her watch. "- its bloody seven o'clock!"  
  
Ah.  
  
I give a suitably apologetic response to this whilst grabbing my dressing- gown, and fuming inwardly, I leave the dormitory. Pavarti, oddly enough, is still fast asleep.  
  
I stagger down the girls dormitory stairs to the Common Room, groaning to myself. How could I have thought it was exam day? It was that stupid dream, giving me ideas.  
  
Aaaargh, just caught sight of myself in the mirror. Mad hair. Too tired and fed up to do anything about it.  
  
The mirror has other ideas.  
  
"Really dear, I've told you before! Merlinda Makesmooth's Forget Frizz – there's nothing better for-"  
  
My Silencing Charms really are very good, though I say so myself.  
  
I hobble over to one of the comfy armchairs in front of the fire and sink down into it resignedly. There's no way I'll be able to sleep again now, I'll have to just wait here until breakfast.  
  
I glance over at a hairy reddish lump in the vast armchair next to me. Awww, just look at Crookshanks curled up there. A cuddle with him would definitely calm my frazzled nerves. I smile and cooing, reach over to stroke his fur.  
  
And nearly faint.  
  
"Arrrgghh! Hermione! What are you doing?!"  
  
It's RON.  
  
He flings back the thick blanket which concealed the rest of his body rather well. Oh dear. I remember Ron loves sleep almost even more than that ridiculous orange-clad Quidditch team of his.  
  
He's not happy.  
  
"Sorry! Its just - I thought that you – DON'T LAUGH – I thought you were Crookshanks..." I can feel my face reddening as I stutter on. Why on earth am I blushing and mumbling like some sort of idiot? Mind you, Ron's reaction certainly isn't relieving my embarrassment.  
  
How could I have mistaken Ron for my cat ?!  
  
Ron is laughing. Lots. I hate it when he does this. It's one of the few ways he can get to me, and boy does he know it.  
  
I gather myself with as much dignity as I can muster, given the circumstances (and the fact that a Poofball has mysteriously replaced my hair during the night) and stalk away, intending to make a dramatic exit through the portrait-hole.  
  
Only I never get as far as the portrait-hole. Before I've taken three steps, I trip over the REAL Crookshanks and fall flat on my face, Ron's hysterical laughter ringing in my ears.  
  
This is going to be a truly disastrous day.  
  
A/N: Now you can review ok? fnx 


	2. Chapter 2: Something Funny's Going On

From Bad to Worse  
  
A/N: Hiya! Thanks for all the reviews you made my day!! Please review more if you want me to continue! And by the way, I apologise for the crap-ness of this chapter title!!!  
  
Chapter 2: Something Funny's Going On  
  
Hmph! Having finally managed to escape the common-room without further embarrassment, I wheel around a corner and walk straight into Harry.  
  
"Hey! Watch it! What's up with you?" he splutters, straightening himself out.  
  
I scowl, too pre-occupied with the infuriating-ness of Ron to apologise. "Its just - RON!" I hiss furiously.  
  
Harry nods somewhat wearily and pushes his glasses up his nose. "Thought so....been winding you up again has he? Course, he only does it cause he li-"  
  
I interrupt. "Oh never mind. Anyway, where have you been? Up rather early for a Saturday aren't you?"  
  
For some inexplicable reason, Harry goes red. And then I begin to notice some little things that my hitherto livid mood had not permitted me to. Like the fact that Harry's hair is much neater than usual. And do my nostrils detect the overpowering smell of an unfortunate encounter with – AFTERSHAVE?  
  
Under my searching gaze, Harry, if at all possible, goes a deeper shade of beetroot. Fumbling with his (clean) robes, he mutters something about revising in the library before literally sprinting off towards the common room.  
  
Well.  
  
That was strange.  
  
It's still too early to go down for breakfast, so I make my way to the library. Thank goodness there are special early-morning openings on weekends, just for 7th years as our N.E.W.T's are coming up. A quick soothing scan of Arithmancy: Advanced Problems for the High-Achiever would do me the world of good.  
  
~*~  
  
Oops.  
  
Lost track of time a little bit. Think I'm late for breakfast. After all that!  
  
In the Great Hall, students are finishing up, but Ginny's still at the Gryffindor table. I slump down opposite her, and suddenly overcome with a need for marmalade, pile some toast onto my plate.  
  
"Hi Ginny. Whew, just glad there's some food left. I was up so early this morning too and somehow I've managed to be late for breakfast! Can you believe it?!"  
  
I pour some tea and slurp it (rather noisily, I'm afraid).  
  
"Ginny?"  
  
I look at her. She's staring dreamily up at the ceiling (which incidentally, is clear powder-blue) and twisting a tendril of red hair round her finger. There's a bowl of untouched porridge in front of her, and she doesn't seem to notice that her elbow is in the sugar-bowl.  
  
"Ginny?!"  
  
She jumps and knocks over the sugar.  
  
"Oh sorry! Yeah, I know what you mean, me too!"  
  
I stare at her with narrowed eyes.  
  
"What?"  
  
Ginny looks back.  
  
"What you were saying. I totally agree!"  
  
I shake my head. "Agree with what Ginny? Oh, you've not listened to a word I've said, have you?"  
  
She's off again, this time tracing patterns in the sugar with her finger. They look suspiciously like – HEARTS?  
  
"Ginny!!! What I was trying to say was I might not have been so late if it hadn't been for that brother of yours," I try again.  
  
She's suddenly, strangely, alert.  
  
"Ron? Oh, he's not been teasing you again? Don't get upset about it, Hermione! I should tell you, he only does it because he fa-"  
  
The screeching of owls drowns out the end of her sentence.  
  
"Post's arrived!" 


	3. Chapter 3: Inquisitive Teenage Girls

A/N: Sorry about the shortness of this chapter, but its kinda necessary in order to move the story along. I've recently been struck by a load of brilliant ideas (well, their half-decent!) as regards this story, but need to make some sense and order of them.....I promise it'll get better, just bear with me!! Again, cheers for the reviews! By the way, that doesn't mean STOP! More please!!  
  
Chapter 3: Inquisitive Teenage Girls  
  
I must say, everyone is acting most strangely. Me included. I mean, take the library for instance. How often is it that I lose track of time through reading? Actually......yes, that'd be pretty often.  
  
After the remainder of breakfast passes fairly uneventfully, apart from Ginny's very unusual behaviour, I make my way down to the dungeons for Potions, alone. I have no idea where Harry's got to and quite frankly, after this morning, I'm not exactly hankering to see Ron.  
  
There's a queue of Gryffindors and Slytherins outside the dungeons but no sign of Ron and Harry, or of Professor Snape.  
  
Oh no. Lavender and Pavarti are coming over. Whenever I talk to them for longer than a few minutes, they seem dangerously close to kidnapping and performing another radical makeover on me (I foolishly allowed them to experiment last Christmas. The results were, shall we say, interesting. Put it this way, Pavarti and Lavender aren't the subtlest of girls when it comes to makeup).  
  
I whip out my Potions notes and try to look utterly engrossed in the uses of belladonna, although in actual fact, I've been able to recite them from heart since first year.  
  
Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to deter them. Instead they stand beside me, waiting for some acknowledgement of their presence. Lavender coughs rather loudly.  
  
"Hermione?". I look up, feigning surprise.  
  
"Hi there!" I say, with rather forced enthusiasm. This is it, I think resignedly. I'll be subjected to bubblegum pink nail varnish, blue eye shadow, tangerine lip gloss and every Merlinda Makesmooth hair product ever invented, all because I'm too nice to say no.  
  
But...  
  
"Where's Ron then?" asks Lavender, going extremely giggly and doing something funny with her eyes. Oh! She's winking! Wait a minute..... she's winking??  
  
"I don't know" I answer, a little puzzled. "I've no idea where Harry is eith-"  
  
"Come on Hermione! You don't need to cover anything up! It's us! " Pavarti's practically quivering with excitement. Now I'm really confused.  
  
"Cover what up?"  
  
Lavender leans in and clutches my arm. With that manic glint in her eye, I'm a bit scared. "You and Ron! It's okay...we know!"  
  
I must be staring at her bemusedly because she elaborates. "You're seeing him aren't you? Oh, Hermione, me and Pavarti always thought you made the cutest couple! Finally! We're so happy for you..."  
  
Pavarti's nodding along enthusiastically with everything Lavenders saying. I struggle free of Lavender's surprisingly strong grip.  
  
"Wait a minute! Wh-what do you mean I'm seeing Ron? Who said that?" I ask confusedly. Why am I stuttering? And why am I turning red?  
  
Pavarti taps her nose in an infuriating manner while Lavender giggles even harder, and elbows me in the ribs.  
  
She has very sharp elbows.  
  
I laugh shakily. (Shakily? Why?!)  
  
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about! Me and Ron?! Why, that's-that's preposterous! We've never – the whole idea's quite ridiculous!"  
  
And who should overhear this conversation but...  
  
"What's this I hear Mudblood?," sneers Draco Malfoy, who happens to be passing with his usual sickening band of adoring female fans, "You and Weasley are an item?"  
  
"NO! Of course not!"  
  
I'm being surrounded.  
  
Lavender looks at me in a way reminiscent of a fond grandmother.  
  
"Hermione, please. Don't be embarrassed! Ron's always li-"  
  
"CLASS! Inside!"  
  
I think I can honestly say that I have never been happier to see our greasy- haired, hook-nosed Potions master. 


	4. Chapter 4: Dragon Hearts, Faint Hearts

A/N: Sorry for the delay but this chapter has taken about three months to write! So it better be bloody appreciated!  This appreciation should come in the form of **LOTS** of reviews please!!

Read on…

Chapter Four: Dragon Hearts, Faint Hearts 

I rush headlong into Potions, earning me a couple of strange looks. I suppose it's not an entirely new occurrence to have me hastening to class but I'm not usually first in line for two hours of Snape.

I make for the back of the dungeon to the bench usually occupied by myself, Ron and Harry. There's still no sign of them, which has me slightly concerned. Okay, they're not the most punctual of boys, but I realise that I've not seen either of them since before breakfast, a meal they're not accustomed to missing.

I try desperately to ignore the giggles emanating from a cluster of girls gathered round Parvati and Lavender. I just need something to engage myself with, to calm me down in the few minutes its taking Snape to write our instructions on the blackboard. A good book perhaps, or I could…add another few inches to that seven foot essay due next lesson…

One fruitless rummage through my bag later, I try to make searching through my pockets look like a highly important and absorbing task which prevents me from acknowledging Lavender's particularly loud stage-whisper:

"_Yeah I know! How cute!_" She's addressing this to some Hufflepuff girl whose name I cant remember.

Ohhh! This is probably the most embarrassing thing to ever happen…. why me? Why Me?!

Aha! This crumpled piece of cardboard hidden in the corner of my pocket will save me! It'll help me! It'll tell me everything's going to be just fine in soothing motherly tones, perhaps even sing me a calming ditty – lullaby or similar –

STOP! I am letting the hysteria of the situation affect me! Besides, it's just a Chocolate Frog Card, that one Ron gave me. Last Tuesday. In the common room. We were sitting by the fire…

I jump as the dungeon door bangs open. _Finally._

"Potter, Weasley you appear to be…." Snape checks his watch, "Five minutes late, so that means, I think, five points from Gryffindor House. Sit down."

"Where have you two _been_?" I hiss at them as they unpack their things next to me. Ron and Harry exchange an almost nervous look, and then shake their heads in what they obviously deem to be a careless manner. However, as this involves Harry shaking his head so fast it appears a dark blur and Ron's eyebrows twitching uncontrollably, I'm not entirely convinced.

Snape has a tiresome habit of deducting points from Gryffindor for the least misdemeanour, so I decide to concentrate on what he's saying. What's more, this means I postpone the very embarrassing conversation that is bound to occur for oooh! - At least three minutes.

"We shall be deciphering the enigmatic features of one of the most lethal potions to ever be discovered, _Veritaserum_." Snape pauses, standing imposingly at the front of the class. "The potion alone will force the consumer to reveal its secrets, and is often used to interrogate prisoners who remain uncooperative…"

His eyes flash dangerously around the dungeon. "The instructions are on the board. The potion will not be completed for a month, as many of the ingredients require certain special brewing methods. I have no difficulty in predicting that most of you shall fail in creating this most complex of potions, yet it is my unhappy task to get you all through your first year of NEWTs coursework and so we must persist in this assignment, however pointless it may prove to be."

I follow Harry and Ron over to the large store cupboard to collect some ingredients along with most of the class. Malfoy and his cronies are already there, performing some inane activity involving squeezing dragon hearts to see if they burst. Honestly.

Oh no. Parvati and Lavender are striding towards Ron and I purposefully, eyes glinting. Ron CANNOT find out what they've been saying about us! I've already embarrassed myself in front of him quite enough for one day…. must distract him, quickly!

I stare around wildly and grab the first thing that comes to hand, which happens to be one of Crabbe's discarded dragon hearts. Goodness, they really are incredibly slippery! So slippery, in fact, that it shoots straight out of my hands and into the face of…Draco Malfoy.

Harry's mouth drops open. I notice the crowd of students is oddly quiet and I realise that to all appearances I, Hermione Granger – I quote: "cleverest witch of her age" – has attacked somebody without provocation. I feel reckless! I feel wild! I-I-I'm out of control!

Oh dear. Neville Longbottom appears to have fainted.

"You stupid Mudblood! You've got dragon slime all over my hair!" Malfoy bellows, running his hands over his head in an attempt to clean himself.

"OY! Call her that again and I'll smash your face in Malfoy!" Ron's marching over to him as he speaks, like some gallant knight of old. Hold on a second!

Ron - _chivalrous_? This defence of me is highly unexpected. But rather sweet, really…

Standing in the doorway is Parvati Patil, and from one look at her expression, I can see she has clearly put my unlikely rebellious actions down to the fact that I am madly in love. She smirks knowingly, watching Ron, who is currently fighting through the group of Slytherins to give Malfoy a good thumping. On my behalf! For me! Aw.

But I am NOT; repeat NOT in love with Ron! Whatever Lavender and Parvati seem to think! I suddenly realise I'm grinding my teeth and rolling my eyes in untamed frustration. Ah. _That_ must be why Neville is on the floor quivering. I did wonder.

"Just what is going on here?" I see Snape's perusal of the sight, eyes wandering over Malfoy covered in slime, being held at the scruff of his neck by a red-faced Ron, to me standing irresolute with remnants of dragon heart still on my hands.

"Ah yes…" Snape murmurs with relish. "Detention I think, Mr Weasley and," he glances from my grubby hands to Malfoy's head, "Miss Granger will join you…"

Great.

A/N: Review! Please…


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